


Emotion is Magic

by SarahShalomDavid



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Love Confessions, Realm Hopping, True Love, True Love's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2019-09-14
Packaged: 2020-10-05 01:19:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20480594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarahShalomDavid/pseuds/SarahShalomDavid
Summary: Emma’s next magic lesson is realm jumping but what happens when she ends up in the wrong realm? Will anything ever be the same again?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to ’Lucazt’ for being my SQSN Cheerleader. 
> 
> A huge shout out and thank you to ’TeenyBirdy’ for being my Beta on this fic.
> 
> Thank you to ariestess for being my SQSN artist

Emma was stood in Regina’s vault waving her hands around in strange motions, every now and then sparks shot from the tips of her fingers but it wasn’t exactly what Regina had been attempting to get her to do. 

Regina was watching her closely.  _ I wonder how soft her hands would feel,  _ she wondered to herself as she watched the blonde’s hands move.  _ I wonder what her lips would feel like,  _ she thought silently as Emma moved her lips soundlessly as if speaking a silent spell. Regina bit her lip lightly, tugging it into her mouth.  _ If only I could kiss her…my God just one kiss,  _ she thought with a slight sigh. A sigh that Emma mistook as a sign of frustration; the wrong kind. 

_ Who am I kidding? I wouldn’t be happy with just one kiss…how could I be? I want everything with her.  _ Regina shook her head lightly,  _ What has happened to me?  _ She wondered.  _ I’m pining over the idiot…a charming too.  _ She rolled her eyes, although, again Emma thought it was just frustration at her lack of progress with the day’s magic lesson. 

”Emma, focus!”, Regina demanded with a hint of frustration in her voice as she spoke, trying to cover up the fact that she had been daydreaming about her son’s other mother. 

It wasn’t the first time that Regina had found herself lost in a daydream, or just a normal dream, about the saviour. The fierce blonde woman was said to have the power to destroy not only her curse, which she had already succeeded in doing but also her; The Evil Queen. 

Not that she was exactly all that ‘Evil’ anymore, especially not in Emma’s eyes. Emma consistently defended Regina against the name. She claimed that Regina had been misunderstood and was just fighting back after being hurt so much, although she did admit that the woman was a tad bit overly dramatic at times. 

Gradually, over time, it was becoming much more clear to Regina exactly how Emma had that power to destroy her, and it had nothing to do with her magical abilities at all. It didn’t even have any relation to the fact that she was born from true love. Regina had fallen in love with the saviour. So deeply in love with her that she knew that no other person in all of the realms had ever captured her heart and soul to that extent before. 

It was a fact that shocked her beyond belief as she had thought for such a long time that it was Daniel that had been her only true love, but even that did not compare to the current feeling that her chest was struggling to contain. 

Then, Tinkerbell showed her who her ‘true love’ was, Robin Hood, or so she thought at the time and for a long while after that. She never went into that tavern though and never pursued him either. Not out of fear but of annoyance that there was something outside of her control that was choosing someone for her when she wanted to have free will. 

It wasn’t until two weeks ago that she had discovered the truth. A conversation with Snow White, a name that still had her wanting to roll her eyes, about true love had brought about a surprise; Snow had admitted to being at the tavern that night. Not just there, however, but sat next to Robin. It was something that made Regina wonder if the magic was leading her to Emma, still in Snow’s womb, who was behind Robin, where Tinkerbell was pointing. To her, it gave a plausible explanation as to why she never felt drawn to Robin in the way she did Emma. 

It gave the woman hope. Hope that her true love was the blonde she had fallen in love with instead. And hope? My God, she lived on it!

”I am, Regina, I am”, Emma replied, clearly getting annoyed with her own lack of progress in the day’s magic lesson. If truth be told, she was trying, she was just getting distracted by the Mayor’s open neckline as she had ‘forgotten’ to do up her top buttons; again. She didn’t want to fail at her magic lessons, she wanted to make Regina proud and not let her down. Most importantly though, she didn’t want Regina to give up on her and stop her lessons as she rather liked having the woman’s full attention on herself. To have time alone with the woman that she so secretly loved was something that she treasured.

”Close your eyes and picture where you want to go,'' Regina said calmly as she took hold of the other woman’s hands in her own, “Imagine the scenes I showed you”. She had managed to magically show her scenes by imagining them in her own mind before transferring them, opening up her mind to the saviour and pushing the imagery through. Image transfer had been a previous magic lesson for the saviour, however, it had ended when Emma got distracted by her stomach and started imagining food. Regina had, at the time, rolled her eyes at the blonde and offered to make them both dinner as Henry was at a friend’s house. 

”Why do I have to practice this anyway?”, Emma questioned. “Can’t I practice something fun like making water into beer? Or making food appear? Why realm jumping?” _ or taking off your clothes,  _ she silently thought before chastising herself for such ‘inappropriate’ thoughts. 

”It’s an important skill to have,'' Regina confirmed with determination, ”Especially for someone with such powerful magic”. 

Emma sighed heavily and nodded, “Fine”, she replied with exasperation. 

“Okay, concentrate on the images in your mind and hold them there,'' Regina said softly whilst still holding on to both of Emma’s hands, “Are you ready? I'm going to have to let go now, alright?”. She didn’t want to let go but she didn’t exactly want to be accidentally transported with her to Oz either. 

Emma squeezed both of Regina’s hands and nodded, “Okay, I'm ready,” she said before (very reluctantly) letting go of her mentor’s hands. She never did want to let go when Regina did that, it wasn’t often but every now and then the woman would hold onto both of her hands to pull her into focus. It was usually when something dramatic was happening or there was a magic lesson involved. 

Emma silently found herself wishing it would happen more, which was part of the reason she asked for more lessons. 

Regina smiled softly as she saw the glimmer of magic start to swirl around the blonde saviour. “Just hold the picture in your mind of where you want to go,'' she said softly, ”And remember to come straight back to me”. The worry was present when she urged her to come back to her, it wasn’t a plea to come back to Storybrooke but a plea to come back to  **her.**

Emma nodded in confirmation and as a smile appeared on her face, she vanished from the vault in a swirl of magic. 

Regina waited… 

And waited… 

And waited… 

And yet there was no sign of the blonde saviour anywhere. 

She sighed heavily looking at the spot where the woman had vanished from, before turning to run her hand along the surface of her cabinet. It used to be filled with only bottles but now she had a few photos thrown up there too. Photos that she had lovingly placed into frames. 

She picked up a cerulean blue glass bottle and smiled remembering Emma’s panic when she knocked it over and broke it. At the time Regina had demanded that Emma fix it; with her magic of course. It had taken a while but she had managed it. Regina never told Emma what it was. It hadn’t been as important as she had made it out to be. It had been, in fact, just purified water. She chuckled to herself at the memory of the panic on the blonde’s face when it happened, and she put the bottle back on the shelf. 

Next, she looked over at a photo; it was of Emma and Henry at the beach. Although, they weren’t truly at the beach as it was really Regina’s back garden. Emma had arranged a surprise for Regina by magically turning the garden into a beach (avoiding damaging the apple tree of course). It had taken weeks of secret magic lessons with Zelena but Regina had been over the moon at her surprise birthday party on the beach. 

She found herself smiling brightly at the memories of that day, and even more so when she looked at the photo of her with Emma. 

All of the photos featured a mixture of the three of them in various locations, and Regina found herself hoping that it would always be that way. The three of them against the world. 

Regina sighed heavily as she turned back to look at the spot Emma had vanished from, “Where the hell are you?” she mumbled. 

She then went to her mirror and used it to call her sister. Zelena was in Oz showing Belle where she used to live. For some reason, they had decided it would be a good honeymoon location. Belle had wanted to learn more about her new wife so Zelena, who seemed to struggle with the word ‘no’ when it came to Belle, agreed. She called with a wave of her hand and a swirl of magic. 

”Zelena?”, Regina said softly, ”What is hindering the saviour’s return?”. 

Zelena looked confused, especially considering the worry in her sister’s voice, ”But Dear, I thought you'd both changed your mind or she hadn't managed to do it at all,'' she replied, ”Emma never arrived”. 

”What do you mean she never arrived?”, Regina almost shrieked. 

”I mean”, Zelena said calmly, ”Emma never arrived”. 

”Then where the hell is she?!”, Regina questioned. 

Zelena looked to the side of the mirror, ”Any signs of her?”. 

Belle shook her head, ”No”, she replied, ”I think Regina is going to have to use the traces of Emma’s magic to track her”. 

”The idiot”, Regina mumbled, ”She could be anywhere by now”.


	2. Chapter 2

“Oomph!” came the sound as Emma stumbled and hit the floor. She looked around and frowned heavily, “This is so not Oz,'' she mumbled to herself as she looked around at the stone walls that surrounded her. 

The place seemed cold and there was not a single window in the room that she had ‘poofed’ into nor was there very much light. There was only a very small candle that lit the room. The room was circular with a stack of hay in the corner and a bucket. “Great...I’ve poofed into a damn prison,” she mumbled to herself. 

“Did my wish work?”, a small voice came from behind her, “Are you here to rescue me?”. 

Emma turned around quickly at the sound of the child’s voice behind her and she could not help but gasp at the sight that met her eyes. 

There was a little girl who was crouching behind the pile of hay that had been messily dumped against the wall as if it were a bed. She had long dark hair that reached past her shoulders, eyes that felt familiar, and a scar that she would recognise anywhere. Except this scar was clearly fresh as it was bright pink in colour. 

“Regina?”, Emma questioned with hesitance as she knelt down slightly to be closer to the child in height and so that she would not scare the clearly rather timid little girl. 

Regina seemed to take that as a positive response as she ran forward and threw herself into Emma’s arms, almost knocking the blonde off of her feet, “Hurry”, the little one whispered, “Do your magic quickly. Before she comes back,” the little one was shaking. 

Emma had no choice but to wrap her arms around the smaller version of Regina, “It’s going to be okay,” she reassured her softly, even though she could not promise such a thing. “Before who comes back?” she questioned softly as she pulled back slightly in order to look at the girl’s face, “Tell me, please?”. 

“You don’t know?”, The little one asked her with widened eyes. 

Emma shook her head briefly, before cupping the little one’s cheek, “Tell me… what’s going on?”. 

“Mother”, The child said softly, “She’s going to come back, we have to go”. 

Emma nodded and wrapped her arms around the child, she was unsure as to what to do. She needed Regina, adult Regina, to help her but she didn’t know how to get her help. She wasn’t even sure exactly where she was other than it was some sort of version of the Enchanted Forest. Regina had been teaching her about different realms and how each different version had a different feeling to them, almost like a stamp. She had been to the Enchanted Forest that she knew her parents and Regina had come from but this was not it. It simply did not feel right. 

She was trapped though. She kept trying to ‘poof’ them out but she couldn’t do it, she was supposed to simply jump realms to Zelena and then back again. This was not part of the plan. 

Now, she found herself hoping and praying that Regina would find a way to get her back because she was struggling to. She was trapped in some sort of prison with a child version of Regina with Cora apparently on her way, or at least that is who she thought it would be. 

Emma kept the little girl safely wrapped in her embrace as she moved to the pile of hay, cradling the shaking child. She appeared to be only about four-years-old and she seemed to have quite the grip on her for such a small child. 

Holding the child in her arms, she found herself silently pleading for Regina to find her and take her home. 


	3. Chapter 3

“Emma!” Regina screamed out in the depths of her vault, the sound echoing desperately back at her as the sound bounced off of the walls. 

As the sound echoed throughout the vault so did her magic. Suddenly, there was the sound of shattering glass and an explosion within the vault. Multiple glass vials and bottles that had once been neatly placed upon the shelving units suddenly sprung to life and exploded throughout the room, shooting glass into each and every corner. The floor quickly became littered with glass shards of various sizes, shapes, and colours whilst the contents spilt all over the floor, walls, shelves, and every other surface that they came into contact with. Some of which did nothing, some smoked a little, some burned holes into surfaces, and others changed the colour of the surface. 

Regina rolled her eyes, “This is  **your** fault Emma”, she half-screeched with annoyance as she looked around at the sudden mess of her vault. 

She roughly ran her hand through her hair, ruffling it ever so slightly before she stepped into the same space where Emma had vanished from not long ago and she closed her eyes, focusing on Emma. 

She pictured her in her mind and smiled as she remembered her love for the other woman. 

She imagined her smile. 

She pictured her eyes. 

She frowned sensing the Enchanted Forest, but not the one she had once called ‘home’. 

She remembered the feeling of her hand in her own. 

She remembered the feel of her arms wrapped around her. 

She wished for the feel of Emma’s lips on hers. 

And then it happened, Regina’s magic summoned Emma. Her magic grasped hold of Emma’s and yanked her through the realms and back to her. 

Suddenly, in front of her was the saviour, crouching on the floor at her feet with what seemed to be a little girl in her arms. 

“Emma!”, Regina called out in relief before she threw her arms around her. 

Emma smiled softly, “I knew you’d do it... I...I’m not sure what happened… I think I got lost,” she replied as she wrapped one arm around Regina whilst keeping the other wrapped tightly around the child. 

“Were you concentrating on the images that I told you to concentrate on?”, Regina questioned. 

“Of course”, Emma replied, “Well… up until the last minute...when…”. 

“When you what?”, Regina questioned, “Decided to imagine the Enchanted Forest instead?”. 

“I was thinking about you”, Emma admitted. 

“Ah…”, Regina responded as it registered in her mind as to what had actually happened. She turned her attention to the child that was in the blonde’s arms, “You know we’re going to have to find a way to send her back, don’t you?”. 

“Nooo!”, came the scream from the child as the little one clung even more to her than she had done before. 

Emma wrapped her arms around her more tightly, “She’s not from your Enchanted Forest, right?”. 

Regina shook her head, “No, she’s not from the same one,'' she confirmed. 

“Then this won’t have any effect on us now, right?”, Emma asked her. 

Regina shook her head, “But Emma…”.

“But nothing ‘Gina”, Emma said firmly as she held the child in her arms. 

“Please don’t send me back”, the little one whimpered against Emma. 

“I won’t Princess”, Emma said softly, pulling back slightly to look her in the eye, “I’m not sending you back there”. 

“Emma…”, Regina tried. 

“Please”, Emma begged her, “Please, can we talk about this later?”. What she really meant was ‘can we talk about this when she’s not listening?’.

Regina paused but eventually she sighed and nodded, “Fine, I guess we better get back to mine then,'' she said gently, “This is no place for a child”. 

Emma nodded and stood up with the little one in her arms, it was the first time that she had taken a proper look around the vault after her return, “What happened?”, Emma questioned in surprise at how wrecked the vault was. 

“You happened, Miss Swan”, Regina replied with slight annoyance in her voice. 

“But I wasn’t here...”, Emma pointed out. 

“Emotion is tied to magic”, Regina highlighted, “How many times do I have to tell you this?”. 

“Ah”, Emma answered in confusion before she started to make her way out of the vault but just as she got to the exit, she turned and looked at Regina with a smirk, “Does that mean you missed me?” 

“Don’t be ridiculous Miss Swan”, Regina said with a roll of her eyes. 

Emma gave a sad smile, “Shame”, she whispered softly as she left the vault with the little Princess in her arms. 

“What?”, Regina questioned as she ran after her, “What did you say?”

“I said it was a shame”, Emma replied as she turned around to look at her. 

“Why?”, Regina asked her, “Why did you say that?”. 

Emma stepped closer to Regina and closer again to the vault that she had just left, “It’s a shame that you didn’t miss me… because I missed you”, she admitted freely. 

“You were only gone for a couple of hours, Miss Swan,” Regina highlighted with a slight roll of her eyes. 

“So?” Emma asked her. “Haven’t you realised by now, ‘Gina?” “I miss you the moment either of us leaves,” she added as she reached out a spare hand to cup the woman’s cheek. “A couple of hours in a strange realm is quite a long time…it sure felt much longer than that.” 

Regina leaned into Emma’s hand slightly and nodded, “I did”, she admitted, “I did miss you.” 

“I know,” Emma revealed. “Otherwise your magic wouldn’t have destroyed your vault. You did, after all, tell me that emotion is magic.” 

“Idiot,” Regina whispered with a smile and a shake of her head. 

“Your idiot,” Emma replied as she stepped even closer. 

“Mine,” Regina confirmed before she reached out to pull Emma closer, lacing her hand in her hair and kissing her softly. 

Emma smiled as they pulled back slightly to look at each other, and then, as if drawn to each other, they kissed again. 

This kiss much more passionate than their first. 

It was then that Emma realised how much magic truly was linked to emotion. 

As they kissed, a wave of magic shot from them both, setting off car alarms and forcing a mini-earthquake through Storybrooke. 

“What the hell was that?” Emma questioned as she pulled back slightly. 

“Emotion is magic.” Regina answered with a slight smirk, “And that was the most powerful magic of all.'' 

It took a moment for Emma to realise what exactly the Mayor was telling her, “True Love but...”. 

“But nothing”, Regina replied, “You, Emma Swan, are my true love”. 

Emma smiled brightly, holding the little girl tightly in her embrace whilst pulling Regina into her arms as well. 

“Now, let’s go home”, Regina said softly with a smile. 


	4. Chapter 4

With a swirl of purple magic, all three of them vanished from where they had once stood and reappeared in the entrance hall to Regina’s mansion. 

“I suggest you put her down for a nap, she looks tired”, she said softly, as she found herself gently stroking the girl’s hair. 

Emma smiled softly and nodded, “Okay”, she replied in a whisper before making her way upstairs to the guest bedroom. 

Gently, she pushed open the door with the toe of her shoe and then made her way into the room. 

“Where are we?”, the little one mumbled sleepily in Emma’s arms. 

“Home, Princess”, Emma replied softly before kissing the top of her head. 

“Home?”, Little Regina questioned, “No, you can’t send me…”. She paused as she looked around her and suddenly she looked confused, “This isn’t the castle”.

Emma sat down on the bed with the girl in her arms, “This is Storybrooke, this is… this is my home,'' she said as she already spent 90% of her nights at the mansion sleeping in that exact room. She even had most of her belongings moved into the mansion, how had she not realised that before? 

“We’re at your home?” she questioned, “And you're not sending me to my home?”. 

“Oh, Princess”, Emma replied quietly as she cupped her cheeks,  _ I would keep you forever if I could,  _ “I’m not sending you back there”. 

“Why do you call me that?” she asked with a tilt of her head. 

“Because that’s what you are,” the blonde saviour said with confidence as she cradled her close to her. 

“Mother says I am to be Queen”, little Regina stated, “That’s why my name is Regina; it means Queen”. 

“Well, I believe that you’re too young to be Queen”, Emma replied with a smile as the child leaned into her, “I also happen to know that the Queen is downstairs”. 

“Really?” the little one’s eyes went wide, although she wasn’t sure whether to be afraid or excited. 

“She was the one who pulled us out of the Enchanted Forest and back here,'' Emma explained, “Where it’s safe”. 

She had no idea that Regina was already outside of the room, listening. 

“You’ll meet her a little more later but for now it’s nap time”, Emma said with a smile as she encouraged the little one to climb beneath the covers. 

“What’s nap time?” she questioned. 

“It’s where you get to sleep for a little bit to recharge”, Emma patiently explained. 

“What’s recharge?” Princess asked. 

“Where you get more energy”, Emma answered with a smile. 

“Okay”, she simply responded before snuggling down, “I like this bed… it’s much softer and warmer than the hay,” she said as she started to drift off. 

Emma felt tears in her eyes and quickly brushed them away before they had a chance to truly fall, she knew she would not let this child go back to that horror. No matter what. Carefully, she tucked the little girl beneath the soft, warm covers and quietly snuck out of the room. 

When Emma came out of the bedroom, Regina had already gone downstairs. The blonde saviour ran her hand through her locks and sighed heavily as she leaned in the doorway watching the little girl sleep. She felt herself relax in the knowledge that the little girl in that bed was finally safe and she silently vowed to herself that she would not let any harm come to her.

Regina waited patiently downstairs for the other woman, pouring them a glass of apple cider each, which, she had, of course, made herself from the apples that she grew and cared for in her backyard. 

“Here,” she said softly with a smile when Emma entered the room as she offered her the crystal glass of apple cider, “I thought we could do with a drink whilst you tell me everything that happened after you left my vault earlier”. 

Emma nodded and took the glass from the other woman, “Where do you want me to start?”. 

“The beginning, of course,” Regina replied straight away as she sat down on the sofa and took a sip of her drink, “What were you thinking about when you were supposed to be focusing on the image of Oz?”.

“Well, I started out picturing Oz, just like you told me to,” Emma said as she sat on the sofa next to Regina, “Then I ended up thinking about you instead”. 

“What about me?” Regina questioned. 

Emma found herself blushing lightly as she admitted, “Well, you said to come back to you and so it was that really… and just… why does it matter what I was thinking?”.

“Because I would like to know what led you to some alternative version of the Enchanted Forest which resulted in you bringing back a child version of  **me** !” 

“Fine… I was thinking about how much,” Emma took a breath and bit her lip slightly, “How much I love you”

Regina found herself smiling, “I love you too,” she said softly, “Although… that doesn’t explain why you ended up there”. 

“Maybe it had something to do with her magic too?” Emma suggested, “You had magic as a child, right?”. 

Regina nodded, “Yes”, she replied simply, failing to mention the fact that her mother forced her to train with magic and that if she ‘misbehaved’ then she would have to wear a cuff that blocked her magic. It was incredibly uncomfortable to have to wear it and she hated the feel of the magic swirling inside her, trapped, after a few days of having to wear the cuff as a punishment. 

“You mentioned before that you tried to call the fairies to help you, to get you away from your mother,” Emma said softly, “And I think that’s what she was trying to do too, so maybe her magic pulled me there at the same time I was thinking of you? Like, the two powers joining up or something?” Emma suggested, “When I got there she thought I was there to save her because she had called to me” 

Regina listened carefully and nodded, “Maybe… but we should check with Gold later about the possibility and also what to do. Where did you go to in the Enchanted Forest?”, Regina asked her. 

“I’m not sure,” Emma admitted, “It was inside and there was nothing but brick walls, it was a circular room with no windows or any real furniture”. “The kid was in the corner, hiding behind a pile of hay,” she continued, “She said it was her bed. Maybe it was a castle?”, Emma suggested, “But it was more like a prison cell… even the tower in the Rapunzel story had a window”. 

“Then what happened,” Regina prompted after Emma had gone silent for a moment. 

“She was glad that I was there and she begged me to get us both out of there with my magic,” Emma said softly, “Except, I didn’t know how to so I couldn’t do anything but wait and hope that you’d rescue us both”. “She was terrified that her mother would come back,” Emma looked up at Regina for a moment, “In your world… was… was.” 

“Was my mother that bad?” Regina finished her sentence for her, “Yes, although being locked in a tower room would have been a nice break from her, I believe”. 

Emma put her glass down on the table and reached out to wrap her arms around the dark-haired woman carefully and in a rather protective motion. 


	5. Chapter 5

It was two hours later before Little Regina woke up from her nap, but it wasn’t her cries that made them realise it. 

It was the earthquake that came, it was sudden but minor, it did, however, manage to shake the whole house and knock a picture frame off of the wall. The drinks that were on the table shook and Regina only just managed to catch Emma’s to prevent the last drop of her glass of apple cider from spilling on to her living room rug. 

“Gigi,” she gasped as she stood up suddenly from the sofa and rushed upstairs towards the bedroom where the little girl was sleeping. The blonde woman was in front of the child within seconds and sitting down on the bed straight away. 

The little girl was sat up in bed with the covers screwed up around her and a look of fear on her face as she looked up at the woman who entered the room. 

“Hey, it's okay,” Emma tried to reassure the little girl as she reached out slowly to her in order to take her hand. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Emma asked as she moved a little closer. 

“I... I woke up and forgot where I was,” a quiet voice admitted timidly as the ‘earthquake’ tremors calmed but did not stop completely. 

“Oh, Princess,” the blonde woman whispered softly as she reached out and very carefully pulled the girl into her arms. Emma wrapped her arms around the little girl confidently and ran a hand through her dark locks as she unconsciously rocked a little. 

The tremors stopped almost instantly and Regina looked around at the room when it stopped before focusing again on the two people on the bed. She was glad that Emma had been able to calm the child, although seeing a child that looked so much like herself at that age, she found herself wishing that someone had been able to do that for her in the past. At that realisation, she was finding the idea of sending the child back to the Enchanted Forest even harder than before. 

“Princess,” Emma said softly, “I would like you to meet someone”. The little girl had met Regina before, however, it had only been brief before the child’s nap, “This is Regina,” she said as she moved so that the girl could see the woman. 

“Hello,” Regina said calmly as she stepped closer and knelt down so that she was closer to the girl’s height rather than standing over her. 

“She has the same name as me,” Gigi whispered. 

Emma nodded with a smile, “She does, that’s why I’ll call you Princess or maybe Gigi?” 

“Gigi?” the girl questioned quietly. 

“Do you not like it?” Emma asked her as she stroked the girl’s hair gently. 

Gigi smiled and shook her head, “No, I love it.” 

Emma found herself smiling, “That’s good.” 

“Does that mean that she’s the Queen that you told me about?” Gigi asked with a slightly tilted head as she took in the sight of the woman. 

“She sure is,” Emma replied with a smile. 

“But… that’s not what Queens wear,” the little girl commented in a whisper as took in the sight of Regina. 

Regina smiled and stood, “You’re right,” she said as she threw her arm up in the air and with a swirl of purple magic her clothing was changed into a slightly more modest version of one of the dresses that she used to wear in the Enchanted Forest. 

“Wow!” Gigi gasped with amazement, “Why don’t you wear that all the time?”

Regina found herself laughing softly, “Because, in this world, I don’t have to be dressed like a Queen because everyone just knows already and I get to be the Mayor here”. 

“What’s a Mayor?” Gigi questioned with curiosity. 

“It’s the Queen of this land,” Emma answered with a smile. 

“Wow,” Gigi gasped again, “You’re a Queen two times.” 

Regina smirked slightly, “I sure am,” she replied quite happily, “Now, I’m sure that you must be hungry so how about we go downstairs and get you a snack?”

The little girl nodded straight away as she leaned her head on Emma’s shoulder rather comfortably.

Emma stood up with the little girl still in her arms and carried her towards the door so that they could go back downstairs, now that the building was no longer shaking from the child’s emotional/magical earthquake. 

Regina followed Emma down the stairs, watching the little girl as she walked. The child had not taken her head off of Emma’s shoulder but was watching her surroundings as she was carried down the stairs of the mansion. It gave Regina the perfect moment to watch the two of them together. It was a strange sight for her as, visually at least, it looked like a younger version of her in the arms of her true love. 

When they arrived downstairs, they made their way straight into the kitchen, “What would you like to eat?” Regina asked with a calm smile as she moved towards the fridge. 

Little Gigi looked over at Regina but seemed reluctant to ask for anything. Emma wondered if it was due to the fear that had been instilled in her by Cora. Emma had already decided that it was Cora that really should have been labelled as ‘Evil’ rather than Regina but seeing this mini-alternative-universe version of her so fearful, she wondered if there were any versions of Cora that weren’t despicable, especially towards their children.

“You can have anything you’d like to eat,” Regina rephrased gently, “How about some fruit? Or a sandwich? Or maybe some soup?” 

“Apple, please,” the child said softly, pointing to one of the apples in the bowl that sat on the kitchen countertop. 

“Hmm… good choice,” Regina commented, “These are the best apples you’ll ever taste, I grow them in the garden”.

“You make them?” Gigi questioned with slight surprise. 

“I sure do, I grow them in my garden,” Regina confirmed, “And I use them to make the best apple cider and the best apple pie too”. 

“With magic?” Gigi asked her with a slight tilt of her head. 

“No, I don’t need magic to grow them,” Regina said with a smile. 

Gigi looked surprised, “Wow”, she gasped. 

Regina grinned before she placed the apple on a glass cutting board and cut it up into slices for the child and put it onto a plate, much in the same way that she used to do for Henry when he was that age. 

Once it was ready, Regina placed it on the kitchen table ready for Gigi to eat it and Emma tried to put Gigi down so that she could sit on the chair at the table. 

Gigi, however, had other ideas and opted to cling to Emma, much in the way that a little monkey would. Emma laughed at the child’s antics a little and then sat down at the table with her in her lap instead. 


	6. Chapter 6

“Are you ready to go?” Regina asked Emma quietly. 

“Do we have to?” Emma asked in return. 

Regina raised an eyebrow at the other woman and nodded, “You know we do,” she answered calmly, “We have to make sure there aren’t going to be any negative side-effects from this”. 

“You mean from me accidentally going to an alternative universe and bringing back…,” Emma paused for a moment, “Oh my God… I kidnapped a child.” 

“No, you rescued her from an abusive home,” Regina stated firmly. 

“But…” Emma started. 

“No,” Regina cut in, “You are the Sheriff and you rescued a terrified child from an abusive and neglectful environment”. “I can promise you that if someone like you had rescued me from my mother at that age, I would have been so grateful,” she revealed with tear-filled eyes as she firmly took hold of Emma’s face to try and highlight her point. 

“What if he says we have to send her back?” Emma mumbled quietly, Gigi was playing, out of earshot, on the floor with a doll that Regina had somehow produced with magic. The baby doll had green eyes and wore a lemon yellow babygrow with white dots all over it.

“Then we’ll deal with it, if it comes to that,” Regina answered confidently, despite being unsure of what was to come. If she was right then they wouldn’t have to send her back at all but if she was wrong then it would break the little girl’s heart as well as Emma’s. 

Emma hesitated but nodded anyway, “Okay,” she said quietly, “I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be”. 

Regina smiled and wrapped her arms around the other woman before softly kissing her on the lips. 

Emma smiled happily and visibly relaxed into the brief kiss.

When Regina pulled back, she smiled knowing it had worked and Emma was clearly much calmer. She turned to look over at the child, “Gigi, we have to go out now to see someone but you can bring the doll with you if you’d like?”

“Okay,” the little girl said softly as she stood up with the doll in her arms, cradling it against her.

Emma offered a hand to the little one and walked outside with her, following Regina outside. 

As a practice run, Regina had made Emma ‘poof’ them both to the vault earlier that day before they started their actual lesson so it meant that Regina’s car was still at the house, sat neatly on the driveway. 

“What's that?” Gigi questioned as Regina opened the door of the car, magically creating a child’s safety seat at the same time. 

“That is a car,” Emma said with a smile, realising it could be quite amusing to show the child all of the things in this world. She realised that she couldn’t wait to show the child what television was. 

The word ‘car’ held no meaning to her whatsoever and so the look of confusion that was painted onto her face did not alter in the slightest, “I thought we had to go somewhere?”

“We do, which is why we’re going in the car,” Emma answered. 

“It’s like a horse and carriage,” Regina added to explain. 

“Where are the horses?” Gigi asked as she looked around for them. 

“It doesn’t need horses,” Emma stated with a smile, “It runs without it, come on and we’ll show you”.

Gigi didn’t move as she watched the car for a little while longer but after a moment, Emma managed to get her into the car and strapped safely into her car seat.

When they arrived at Gold’s store, Emma went to the back seat to open the door and help Gigi out of the car, “Hey,” she said softly, “Are you okay?”.

“We moved,” the little girl stated, still a little shocked.

“Yep, see, I told you that we would,” Emma replied as she carefully undid the straps. 

“But we moved without horses,” the little one whispered in awe.

Emma chuckled lightly and nodded, “We sure did, Gina drove”.

“Magic,” Gigi whispered quietly. 

Emma smiled as she got the child out of the car, lifting her up onto her hip rather than making her walk. She knew that she wanted Gold’s opinion on the matter (well, she wanted him to say whatever meant she got to keep Gigi) but that didn’t mean that she trusted him so she did not want to let go of the little girl whilst in the store. 

Regina moved around the car to stand beside Emma, gently placing her hand on the woman’s lower back to reassure her in a calm and subtle manner. 

They walked in together, although the child jumped slightly in Emma’s arms when the bell chimed above the door to signal their entrance. 

“Well.. what do we have here?” Gold questioned, looking up from where he was standing at the till. 

“Emma was practising her magic,” Regina began as she remained beside the blonde woman, “She was supposed to realm jumping and go to Oz but instead she ended up in an alternative version of the Enchanted Forest”. 

“Where she decided to kidnap a little you?” Rumple suggested questioningly.

“I told you it was kidnapping,” Emma mumbled to Regina. 

Regina rolled her eyes at Emma’s comment but continued to focus on the imp instead, opting to deal with that idea (again) later, “What will happen if we don’t send her back?”. 

“Well, all magic comes with a price, dearie,” he said weirdly, “With this… the cost would be that the future of that universe will change as she would no longer be in it”. 

“And it won’t have an effect on this world?” Emma questioned. 

“Of course it will,” Rumple said with a slight cackle, “You have brought a child into this world who does not belong and effectively there are now two Regina’s…”. 

“So… that's it?” Emma questioned as she held the child in her arms. 

“Yes,” the imp said with a slight roll of his eyes, “Oh and don’t think I didn’t notice the magic rolling through Storybrooke earlier dearies”. 

Both women looked a little confused, although more so Emma. 

“True love’s kiss?” Gold questioned, “Clearly it was the two of you… it was far too powerful to be anyone else in this town”. 

Regina simply smirked before she led Emma and Gigi from the store. 

  
  



	7. Chapter 7

“Where are we going?” Gigi asked the two adults as they got out of the car again not far from where they had just been. 

“This is Granny’s Diner,” Emma explained patiently, “We’re going to go inside and get some dinner”. 

The door chimed as they entered the diner and multiple people looked up in their direction, Gigi buried her face into Emma’s blonde hair and clung a little more to her as she hid, “It’s okay,” the woman said softly to her, reassuring her. 

Regina reached out and put her hand on Emma’s lower back to show her support to her. 

“Awe, who is this little one?” Ruby asked the two women as she approached the three of them and as she got closer, she tried to see the child’s face through Emma’s blonde curls. 

“This is Gigi,” Emma answered before nudging the child slightly and whispering, “Say ‘Hello’ to Ruby”. 

The little girl turned her head slightly, moving it out from beneath the blonde locks and cautiously took a look at the waitress in front of her, “Hello,” she whispered just like Emma had told her to do. 

Ruby smiled brightly at the little girl, “Hello Gigi,” she said softly, “Well, aren’t you a cutie?”

Following the greetings, the small group made their way over to a booth near the back so that they could have some privacy as they eat their dinner with the little one. Just as they got settled into the booth and began looking at the menu, despite the two women knowing exactly what they wanted, Granny came out from the back.    
  


The woman looked at the group of them and as soon as she saw the little girl, she moved around the counter with a smile on her face but confusion also etched on her features, “Oh, look at you,” she said softly, “How? Why?” she asked, directing the questions towards the two women. 

“Granny!” Little Gigi cried out as she clambered down from the booth seating that she was on and made her way over to the older woman. 

The woman scooped up the child in a practised move that Regina herself recognised, apparently the little alternative version of her recognised Granny too. Regina fondly remembered the woman from when she was a child, Granny had been like a slither of light in her castle of darkness whenever the woman looked after her. 

Gigi grinned as she hugged the woman, “Granny, why are you here? Did Emma bring you here too? How’d you get old?” 

Granny laughed, “Oh, that is a long story but no Emma did not bring me here”. 

Gigi was hugging the woman happily. 

“I got old because it has been a long time since I hugged you last,” the woman explained, “So long… that this is Ruby, do you remember my granddaughter?” 

Gigi frowned and tilted her head, “Ruby got big”. 

Granny chuckled, all of the adults were amused, “So, are you going to tell me why or how?” 

“I was practising realm jumping,” Emma explained, “I was supposed to go to Oz and ended up in The Enchanted Forest, a different version”. 

“She rescued me,” Gigi added before whispering, “From the tower”. 

“Oh, my darling,” Granny said as she wrapped her arms around the little one as, despite the child being from an alternative universe, she knew what ‘the tower’ meant as she had seen the effects of her Regina being locked in there as a child. 

After a moment, Granny put the little one down, although placed her in Emma’s lap as they woman had put her arms out to take the child straight away. 

“Princess, what would you like for dinner?” Emma asked Gigi softly as she brushed a lock of hair away from the child’s face. 

Gigi smiled and looked down at the pictures on the menu before shrugging and whispering, 

“I don’t know”. 

“I’m having a burger and chips, would you like the same?” Emma asked her softly. 

Gigi nodded straight away, if it was okay for Emma to have then it was okay for her, “Yes, please”. 

“Both with a side of vegetables and I’ll have my usual,” Regina added straight away. 

When Granny went back to the kitchen, Ruby crouched down, “So… tell me,” she said wanting gossip, “True loves kiss?” 

Regina smirked but said nothing. 

Emma grinned happily and took hold of Regina’s hand across the table. 

“So it’s true?” a voice shouted out, making Gigi jump a little, “The Evil Queen and The Saviour shared true love’s kiss?” 

“Hey! Less of the ‘Evil’ crap, okay?” Emma yelled back. 

“Language, Emma,” Regina chided, glancing down at the child in the woman’s lap. 

“Sorry,” Emma whispered, but then after a pause, “Actually, no, I’m not sorry… he shouldn’t get away with calling you that name”. 

“Oh, Emma,” Regina said softly, “It isn’t the first time and it won’t be the last time”. 

“But that isn’t you anymore,” Emma highlighted, “You will always be a Queen, it was only them that forced the ‘Evil’ part on you”. She didn’t need to say who ‘them’ was because Regina already knew. 

Regina smiled softly and squeezed Emma’s hand gently, “Oh, I love you, Emma”.

Emma grinned happily, “I love you too, Gina,” she said before she tugged the woman closer in order to be able to kiss her softly, “So much”. 

Regina kissed her back and found herself smiling uncontrollably. 

“Awe, you’re cute,” Ruby commented with an amused laugh. 

“I think I preferred the ‘Evil’ label,” Regina commented with a smirk, “I’m not some kind of cute little animal. I’m a cat, or puppy, or panda or anything, I’m a Queen”. 

“Evil Panda,” Emma said quietly before laughing, “My Evil Panda”. 

“I thought you hated the ‘Evil’ label?” Regina questioned. 

“Hmm.. when other people say it I hate it but tagged with the word ‘Panda’?” Emma said with a chuckle, “That’s funny”. 


	8. Chapter 8

“Mom! Ma!” Henry called out as he entered the mansion later that night, kicking off his shoes as he slammed the door behind him and before dumping his jacket on the floor with his backpack. 

“Don’t slam the door,” Regina said softly, “and hang your coat up”. 

“And put your shoes away,” Henry mouthed as Regina said the words. 

“Yes, Mom,” Henry said out loud as he did as she asked of him. 

In the living room, Emma was sitting on the sofa with Gigi in her lap, the child was curled up with her head resting against her. The woman was running her fingers through the dark waves of Gigi’s hair as she sat beside Regina. 

Regina kissed Emma’s cheek lovingly, making the woman smile softly, “Hello Henry, did you have fun at the sleepover?” 

“Yeah...Er Mom?” Henry questioned as he glanced between her and the little girl that had claimed the spot in his birth mother’s lap. 

“Ah, Henry, this is Gigi,” Emma said with a smile as she introduced them, “Gigi, this is Henry”. When she spoke, she encouraged Gigi to look up rather than hide her face in Emma’s blonde locks. 

Gigi looked up cautiously but didn’t say anything. 

Henry moved closer and smiled, “Hey”. 

“Gigi, say hello to Henry,” Emma encouraged reassuringly. 

“Hello,” Gigi said shyly from her place on Emma’s lap. 

The following morning, Regina and Emma woke up wrapped in each other, to the sound of both of the children’s laughter echoing up the stairs. 

Emma groaned and buried her face in Regina’s hair a little more, hiding from the slither of sunlight that was shining through the gap in the curtain. 

Regina found herself smiling at the sound of laughter as well as smiling at the feel of her lover burying into her more so she wrapped her arms around Emma and held her close, “Good Morning,” she said softly. 

“G’Morning,” Emma mumbled with her lips against Regina’s neck. 

“We should get up,” Regina commented, “The children are awake”. 

“Hmm… no,” Emma mumbled as she wrapped herself around the other woman even more. 

“Well, then I need to get up,” Regina said softly as she tapped Emma’s hip lightly. 

“No... pillow,” the blonde mumbled, almost incoherently. 

“What?” Regina questioned with a chuckle. 

“You’re my pillow,” Emma mumbled, “Don’t go”. 

Regina smiled and kissed the top of Emma’s head, “I love you”. 

“I love you too,” she mumbled back. 

As Regina held Emma close to her, deciding in that moment that they could stay in bed for a while longer rather than to get up. She found herself feeling happier than she thought she would ever feel as she lay there in her true love’s arms. Regina realised that the happy ending that she had been searching for was, in actual fact, a happy beginning. This would not be the ‘end’. 

Meanwhile, downstairs, Henry was teaching Gigi how to use his games console with a game of Mario Kart. She seemed to pick it up quite easily, especially considering the fact that she had never seen a television in the Enchanted Forest. 

When Regina and Emma finally made it downstairs, the two children were eating the cereal that Henry had sorted for them. “Mom! Ma!” Henry called out, “We’re keeping her right?”. 

“What was that Henry?” Regina asked calmly. 

“I asked if we’re keeping Gigi,” Henry repeated with a smile as Gigi ran and almost launched herself at Emma. 

“Keep me, keep me,” Gigi chanted excitedly as she threw herself at Emma. 

Emma grinned, instinctively picked the little girl up, scooping her into her arms and holding her close. “Yes, Henry,” she said softly, “We are most definitely keeping her”. 

“YES!” Henry shouted excitedly with a fist bump in response. 

Gigi grinned happily, “Yay,” she said happily as she hugged Emma tightly. 

Emma smiled softly as Regina smiled, watching her true love with the small girl. 

Regina knew as she watched them together that it had been the right choice in keeping the child with them. She knew how important it was to the little girl to stay with them and away from the cruel grip of Cora Mills. She may not know that exact version of Cora, however, it did not seem like she was very much different from the version in her own Enchanted Forest. The version that she had to suffer at the hands of when she was a child. The version that left scars on her skin and her mind. 

The dark-haired mayor wrapped her arms around Emma and Gigi before stretching her arm out to tug Henry into the group hug. 


	9. Chapter 9

“Are you ready, Gigi?” Henry called out as he put on his coat near the front door. 

“Nearly,” the little one called back. 

It had been three months since the little girl had been pulled through the portal into Storybrooke as well as three months since she became a member of the Swan-Mills family. It had been two and a half months since Emma and Ruby painted the guest bedroom to create a ‘Princess’ themed bedroom for the child. 

The room had pastel pink walls with ‘Gigi’ written on the wall in a darker pink which was painted with glitter and above the writing was a tiara in the same glittered colour. The bed was made from wood and painted white with four posts as well as pink curtains that matched the wall paint. On the bed was white bedding which was decorated with pink unicorns and on top of it was a giant stuffed unicorn. There was also a pink fluffy rug which was on top of the white fluffy carpet whilst to the side of the room was a bookcase and a toy chest that both matched the white wood of the four poster bed. 

Gigi was sat on the edge of the sofa in front of Regina and the woman was braiding her hair into two french braids and tying them with pink ribbons, “There you go,” she said softly, “All done”. 

“Thank you Mommy,” Gigi said softly as she hugged the woman before dashing off to join her brother at the front door. 

“Don’t forget your coat,” Emma said with a smile as she grabbed it off of the hook and passed it to the child, helping her into it so that she wouldn’t get cold on the short walk outside where the school bus would meet the two children. 

Gigi was bouncing with excitement as she was rather happy that she would be getting to go to school for the first time with her new brother and the promise of ice-cream after school was a definite plus. 

“Don’t forget your lunches,” Regina said as she handed them both their lunches, “Are you looking forward to school?”. 

Gigi bounced up and down, nodding, “Yes, yes, yes”.

“Well, you both better get going or you’ll miss the bus,” Emma said softly, leading the two of them out of the door. 

Both of the women watched the two children as they walked to the end of the path in order to wait for the school bus that would take them to school. 

Emma tugged Regina closer to her and wrapped an arm around her waist in order to hold her close as they watched the children. 

Regina wrapped her arms around Emma with one hand on the woman’s shoulder and the other on her waist. She found herself leaning her head on her shoulder as she watched the two children playing on the sidewalk in front of their house. 


	10. Chapter 10

The table was set perfectly, candles were lit, and the food was almost finished cooking. Regina removed her apron and brushed invisible lint off of her dress as she heard the front door open and then close again. 

“Honey, I’m home!” came the sound of the woman yelling as she entered their family home. 

Regina found herself grinning to herself at the sound of Emma’s voice, never before had she imagined such family bliss in the mansion but she wouldn’t do anything to change it. She moved towards the front door and within moments Emma took her into her arms and kissed her lovingly. 

Emma smiled into the kiss as she held her close, pushing her gently against the wall before deepening the kiss, “Hmm… I love this dress on you,” she said softly as she ran her hand up the side of it. 

“I know, that’s why I’m wearing it,” Regina replied with a smile as she carefully hooked her leg around Emma, tugging her closer to her. 

“What is that smell?” Emma questioned, “Is that your lasagne?” 

Regina bit her lip slightly as she nodded, “Sure is”. 

Emma grinned at the confirmation, “Wow, I must have been reallyy good, eh?” she commented with a slight smirk, “My favourite dress, my favourite food, and my favourite person”.The blonde woman tugged Regina’s dress out slightly at the neckline, “Hmm… and my favourite lingerie… I am  _ very _ lucky, aren’t I?” 

“Sure are,” Regina commented happily, “and so am I, my darling”. 

“So, what did I do to deserve all of this?” Emma questioned with a slightly raised eyebrow. 

“Well, I can confirm that it wasn’t turning your paperwork in on time,” Regina replied with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on her face. 

Emma simply grinned at her and started to try and distract the other woman by kissing down her neck. 

“I… I… stop for a moment, Em..ma,” Regina managed to gasp out. 

Emma pulled back slightly to check whether or not her girlfriend was okay, “Hey, what’s wrong?” she asked softly. 

“”Nothing, I… I was going to do this after we’d eaten but I just can’t wait,” Regina explained with an excited grin on her face. 

Emma simply watched the other woman with a confused expression on her face, “Regina?” 

“I..,” Regina pulled something out of her pocket and held it out of sight, “I love you Emma, I love you more than I ever thought it was possible for me to love anyone”. She raised a hand to touch the other woman’s cheek, “I spent years being told that you would become the saviour and destroy me, and I always thought that it meant that I would die,” she said softly, “But I was wrong, so wrong because you didn’t destroy me at all… you saved me”. 

Emma smiled softly at her, but before she could reply Regina continued. 

“You are the most amazing person that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and I am so glad that Henry found you,” she said softly before pressing a soft kiss to Emma’s lips, “So, I decided that I want this… I want this, with you forever”. “So, Emma Swan?” Regina spoke softly as she knelt down on one knee in front of Emma, despite the difficulty of being in such a tight dress, “Would you do the honor of becoming Mrs Swan-Mills?”. 

“No,” Emma said softly, “I’d much rather be Mrs Emma Mills”. 

“What?” Regina asked in shock. 

“I would like to become Mrs Mills,” Emma repeated. 

“Is that… a yes… to marrying me?” the dark-haired woman questioned with confusion as she held the ring out in her hand. 

Emma grinned and knelt down in front of the other woman, “Of course I’ll marry you,” she said softly as she cupped the sides of Regina’s face, “A billion times, yes”. 

“Oh, thank God,” she said softly with a few tears sliding down her cheeks, “But we will need to revisit the names at a later date”. 

Emma smirked and nodded, “Of course,” she said softly. 

“Because I will take your name,” Regina said firmly as she slid the ring on to Emma’s ring finger. 

“That doesn’t sound much like a discussion,” Emma commented with a chuckle and a raise of her eyebrow. 

Regina chuckled as she stood up and kissed her new fiancee lovingly, “I love you, Emma,” she said softly as she wrapped her arms around her. 

“I love you too, Regina,” she replied, “so very much and so much in fact that… I was planning to do this at the weekend when we went away but I guess I shall have to do it now instead, won’t I?”. 

“Do what?” Regina questioned with a hint of confusion in her voice. 

Emma knelt down on one knee, much in the same way that Regina had done only moments before, “Regina? I love you with all of my heart and soul,” she began, “Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”. She presented the ring with a grin as she looked up at her.

“You idiot,” Regina said softly with an amused chuckle, “Of course I’ll marry you”. She grabbed hold of Emma’s collar and tugged her upwards towards her, “I love you,” she said before kissing her passionately. 

Emma smiled into the kiss just as her stomach rumbled, making the two of them laugh happily. 

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Emotion is Magic Fanmix](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20742887) by [A Magiluna Stormwriter (ariestess)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariestess/pseuds/A%20Magiluna%20Stormwriter)


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